It’s been a good few years since I went to Cyprus but one thing always sticks out clearly in my mind, and that’s my trip to Famagusta – a city now dubbed – a ghost town.
Famagusta was once very popular for people looking for luxury. Notably, celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Brigitte Bardot fed their glamorous lifestyles and supported their high profiles by going to this city that was at the time, one of the most anticipated. It was especially popular in the early 70’s – this decade proved to be its peak but also its ultimate anti-climax. I didn’t get many photos when I was there unfortunately but check out more on the web, it is very interesting and there are lots of pictures to look through.
In 1974, Turkish troops invaded the city leaving it’s Varosha quarter abandoned and no longer owned by Cyprus. To this day, Turkey officially owns this part of the country which, on my trip, is something I could clearly identify. Turkish soldiers guard the city in check points, day in, day out and just in case I wasn’t fully convinced, my mobile phone triumphantly flashed up with ‘Welcome to Turkey!’ It was explained by the tour guide that there were land mines placed at various places on the borders and also if you were to try and cross between the two ‘countries’ you would be shot at by the guards.
See from the below photo how tourist friendly the whole thing has become – guards actually wave at you as you go past on the bus! This is in no way an accurate depiction of Famagusta though, the reality is much harsher than that.
The people of Famagusta at the time of the invasion were chased out of their homes, traumatised but all the time believing that their government would reverse this horrifying situation and claim back the territory that rightly belonged to them. This never happened and over 40 years later, the city has become overgrown with hotels slowly decaying, an abandoned airport, lonely washing on lines in now feral gardens of houses once busy and bustling – left uninhabited for years.
The residents of Famagusta never did get their homes back.
On the tour, we were told that half eaten plates of food still remain on household tables, towels and linen remain folded just waiting to be used in the hotels, groceries still sit on shelves in the shops covered in cobwebs and dust, sun loungers wait on the beach for jolly holiday makers to make the most of. Everything left just as it was that day when the Turks invaded.
This is, to someone who was in no way affected by any of this, extremely intriguing and fascinating and it is almost exciting considering somewhere, a ghost town. It is an interesting part of European history and abandoned places are undoubtedly cool. However, it is easy to forget the real suffering that the victims of this invasion faced. To this day, dreaming about their long lost homes in the well guarded Famagusta.
Over recent times, there have been talks between Turkey and Cyprus to relieve Famagusta back into the hands of the Cypriots but nothing has resonated yet.
There’s hope yet for Famagusta, but the damage the invasion caused can never be undone and there the city lies day after day, still abandoned, decaying and waiting…
